Articles from:October 2019

• Study on exercise and older adults seeking research participants

  Thursday, October 10, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 10 October 2019 – R00157

  Older adults who exercise tend to do so in groups, but do they get something out of it? Could even a single class affect their health and mood?

  Brock University master’s student Sarah Galway is aiming to answer these and other questions in a study she’s conducting on the effects of a brief exercise session on health and mood in older adults.

  Research shows that getting out of the house and connecting with others has many benefits, says Galway, whose research is under the direction of Associate Professor of Kinesiology Kimberley Gammage.

  “With older adults, you sometimes see things like isolation and loneliness, so having more of a social environment through group exercise tends to be really helpful,” says Galway.

  However, most studies in exercise psychology tend to focus on younger populations and involve exercise classes that run for weeks, she says.

  Galway is looking for men and women over the age of 60 who are able to complete exercise without the use of a mobility aid and have normal or corrected-to-normal hearing.

  The research involves two visits to the Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being. During the first visit, participants will fill out a questionnaire, while in the second visit, they will fill out more questionnaires and exercise in a one-hour class.

  “We know that physical activity is important at any part of the lifespan, so it’s important to understand how we can get older adults to adhere to exercise,” Galway says. “As people age, they are more at risk for chronic conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease. Exercise is one of the best medicines out there.”

  People interested in taking part in the study should contact Galway at [email protected] or 905-688-5550 x4147, or Gammage at [email protected]

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio. 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Panel discussions to demystify federal election

  Thursday, October 10, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 10 October 2019 – R00156

  Two panel discussions hosted by Brock University’s Department of Political Science are aiming to demystify the upcoming federal election.

  Each panel will designate time for experts in policy, labour, race, gender, immigration and municipal issues to offer general remarks before opening the floor to questions.

  “The panels are a chance for people to hear from experts who follow these issues very closely from various perspectives,” says Blayne Haggart, Associate Professor of Political Science and organizer of the two events.

  On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Associate Professor Charles Conteh and instructor Tim Fowler will be joined by Erin Tolley, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga, who is one of the country’s leading experts on elections and gender. The panel, titled “The 2019 federal election preview: The leaders, the issues, the stakes,” will examine what the election could mean locally and nationally.

  “Whoever is in charge in Ottawa after Oct. 21 will help determine how a region like Niagara grapples with economic development, public health, social housing and policing,” says Conteh, an expert on public policy and economic development. “All of these issues are beyond the technical capacity or financial resources of any regional or local government to tackle alone.”

  On Wednesday, Oct. 23, three more Brock experts will help make sense of the election results at “Unpacking the federal election: What happened, why and the future.”

  Associate Professor Tamari Kitossa of the Department of Sociology will join Associate Professor Livianna Tossutti and Professor Emeritus David Siegel of the Department of Political Science for a breakdown of how the election played out and what the implications might be.

  Tossutti, an expert in Canadian politics and immigration, plans to look at available polling data to see how issues, leaders and events resonated with the public in the pre-election and campaign period, and to review general turnout trends.

  “Youth and Indigenous electoral mobilization played a big role in the Liberals’ majority victory in 2015,” says Tossutti. “I will be watching to see if that pattern holds in 2019.”

  She’s also interested to see how election results affect representation of females and racialized minorities in the House of Commons.

  Haggart says the department has a long tradition of offering public talks during election season, but that the 2016 U.S. presidential election showed how the follow-up discussion can be just as engaging as the pre-election speculation.

  Both events will be held at 7 p.m. at the St. Catharines Public Library, which is co-sponsoring and hosting the panels. While they are open to the public, seating is limited. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to RSVP online for Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases